The qunoot of witr
Dua e Qunoot
The qunoot duas of the witr prayer, each with its reference, starting with the one taught to al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali (Sunan Abi Dawud 1425).
Allahummahdini fiman hadayt
((اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنِي فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ، وَعَافِنِي فِيمَنْ عَافَيْتَ، وَتَوَلَّنِي فِيمَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ، وَبَارِكْ لِي فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ، وَقِنِي شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ؛ فَإِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلاَ يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ، إِنَّهُ لاَ يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ، [وَلاَ يَعِزُّ مَنْ عَادَيْتَ]، تَبارَكْتَ رَبَّنا وَتَعَالَيْتَ)).
Allahummahdini fiman hadayt, wa ‘afini fiman ‘afayt, wa tawallani fiman tawallayt, wa barik li fima a‘tayt, wa qini sharra ma qadayt, fa innaka taqdi wa la yuqda ‘alayk, innahu la yadhillu man walayt, [wa la ya‘izzu man ‘adayt,] tabarakta rabbana wa ta‘alayt.
O Allah, guide me among those You have guided, keep me well among those You have kept well, take care of me among those You have taken care of, bless me in what You have given, and protect me from the evil of what You have decreed. For You decree, and no one decrees over You. Whoever You befriend is never humbled, [and whoever You oppose is never honoured]. Blessed are You, our Lord, and exalted.
The Prophet ﷺ taught this to his grandson al-Hasan to say in witr.
Which Dua e Qunoot is this?
Two qunoots, both on this page. The dua above is the one the Prophet ﷺ taught his grandson al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali to say in witr (Sunan Abi Dawud 1425). The words many mosques in Britain and South Asia teach as “Dua e Qunoot”, beginning “Allahumma inna nasta‘inuka”, are very close to the qunoot reported from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second dua below (al-Bayhaqi, as-Sunan al-Kubra 2/211).
One lasting gift is water: see what it takes to build a water well.
Allahumma inni a‘udhu biridaka min sakhatik, in witr
((اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِرِضَاكَ مِنْ سَخَطِكَ، وَبِمُعَافَاتِكَ مِنْ عُقُوبَتِكَ، وَأَعُــــوذُ بِكَ مِنْكَ، لاَ أُحْصِي ثَنَاءً عَلَيْكَ، أَنْتَ كَمَا أَثْنَيْتَ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ)).
Allahumma inni a‘udhu biridaka min sakhatik, wa bimu‘afatika min ‘uqubatik, wa a‘udhu bika mink, la uhsi thana’an ‘alayk, anta kama athnayta ‘ala nafsik.
O Allah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your anger, and in Your pardon from Your punishment, and I seek refuge in You from You. I cannot count all the praise You deserve; You are as You have praised Yourself.
‘Ali said that the Prophet ﷺ would say this at the end of his witr.
Allahumma iyyaka na‘bud (the qunut of ‘Umar)
((اللَّهُمَّ إِيَّاكَ نعْبُدُ، وَلَكَ نُصَلِّي وَنَسْجُدُ، وَإِلَيْكَ نَسْعَى وَنَحْفِدُ، نَرْجُو رَحْمَتَكَ، وَنَخْشَى عَذَابَكَ، إِنَّ عَذَابَكَ بِالكَافِرِينَ مُلْحَقٌ. اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْتَعينُكَ، وَنَسْتَغْفِرُكَ، وَنُثْنِي عَلَيْكَ الْخَيْرَ، وَلاَ نَكْفُرُكَ، وَنُؤْمِنُ بِكَ، وَنَخْضَعُ لَكَ، وَنَخْلَعُ مَنْ يَكْفرُكَ)).
Allahumma iyyaka na‘bud, wa laka nusalli wa nasjud, wa ilayka nas‘a wa nahfid, narju rahmatak, wa nakhsha ‘adhabak, inna ‘adhabaka bil-kafirina mulhaq. Allahumma inna nasta‘inuk, wa nastaghfiruk, wa nuthni ‘alaykal-khayr, wa la nakfuruk, wa nu’minu bik, wa nakhda‘u lak, wa nakhla‘u man yakfuruk.
O Allah, You alone we worship; for You we pray and bow down in prostration; to You we hurry and we strive. We hope for Your mercy and we fear Your punishment; Your punishment will surely reach the disbelievers. O Allah, we ask You for help and we ask Your forgiveness. We praise You with all good, we are not ungrateful to You, we believe in You and humble ourselves before You, and we cast off whoever denies You.
Reported from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, who said it in the qunut.
Where Dua e Qunoot comes in the prayer
Before bowing, or after. Hanafis say the qunoot in the third rak‘ah of witr before bowing; the Shafi‘i and Hanbali schools say it after rising from the bowing, using the dua taught to al-Hasan (Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi 464). The four schools’ views, with their sources, are on Qunoot by school.
After the salam
Three times, aloud. When the witr is over, the Prophet ﷺ would say “Subhanal-malikil-quddus” three times (Sunan Abi Dawud 1430).
Subhanal-malikil-quddus
((سُبْحَانَ المَلِكِ القُدُّوسِ)) ثلاثَ مرَّاتٍ والثَّالِثَةُ يَجْهَرُ بها ويَمُدُّ بها صَوتَهُ يقولُ: [رَبِّ الْمَلاَئِكَةِ وَالرُّوحِ])).
Subhanal-malikil-quddus. [Rabbil-mala’ikati war-ruh.]
Glory be to the King, the Most Holy. [Lord of the angels and of the Spirit.]
Three times after the salam of witr, raising and drawing out your voice the third time and adding “Rabbil-mala’ikati war-ruh” (Lord of the angels and of the Spirit).
Learn more about the qunoot
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Qunoot by school
Before or after bowing, every night or in Ramadan: the four schools side by side. -
Dua e Qunoot in English
Both qunoots, line by line, beside the words you say. -
Transliteration
Both qunoots in English letters, phrase by phrase. -
The duas of witr
The qunoot, the words at the end of witr and after the salam. -
Our sources
Where the Arabic comes from, and how every line is checked.
Questions about Dua e Qunoot
Which qunoot should I learn first?
The schools accept the dua taught to al-Hasan (Sunan Abi Dawud 1425), and the Hanafi school teaches “Allahumma inna nasta‘inuka” as well, from the report of ‘Umar (al-Bayhaqi, as-Sunan al-Kubra 2/211). Learn the one your mosque uses, and the other when you can.
Is the qunoot only for Ramadan?
The schools differ, as Qunoot by school sets out: Hanafis and Hanbalis say it every night, while the Shafi‘i school says it in the second half of Ramadan (Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi 464 gives the dua they share).
Where is Dua e Qunoot found in the hadith?
The dua taught to al-Hasan is in Sunan Abi Dawud 1425, Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi 464 and Sunan an-Nasa’i 1745. Hisn al-Muslim, the book our Arabic is taken from, gives it as entry 116.
Witr itself
How many rak‘ahs to pray and how the night prayer ends is explained in the witr guide on Muslims Around the World.